WILLIAM BURGESS
(1732?-1780)
of Stafford County, Virginia
3f. William (II) [son of Edward (I)]. Born about 1732 in King George Co., VA. Married Bathsheba Courtney on 19 Jan. 1755 O.S. (Overwharton Parish Register) in Stafford Co., VA. William Burgess moved to the Accokeek Creek area of Stafford Co. with his brother, Garner Burgess, in the early 1750s. He was named a co-executor of his father’s estate (with Garner) in his father’s will. His signature appeared on the 15 Oct. 1776 petition of the Stafford Co. freeholders to the Virginia House of Burgesses (the Legislature), asking that the boundary line between Stafford and King George Cos. be adjusted (the counties were subsequently realigned along their modern boundaries on 1 Jan. 1777); but he did not sign the Stafford Co. petition of May 1779. William Burgess died about 1780; the inventory of his estate has been lost, but the index record survives (Stafford Co. Liber #N, p. 410), citing a page number lying within a few pages of the Commissioners Poll (legislative election) of 1780 (p. 407). His relationship to the William Burgess mentioned in his father’s will is confirmed by the sale of the original Burgess lands in King George Co. in 1797, in which William’s son Edward acted in his father’s stead, William having been a co-executor of the original Edward’s will.
According to the lawsuits filed over the disposition of William’s father’s estate (see the section on Edward Burgess Sr.), William Burgess purchased the old family farm, consisting of 100 acres located about 2.5 miles southwest of the present-day town of King George. However, there is no record of an actual transfer of the property into William’s name, and after his death, the land apparently reverted back to the Burgess heirs.
Bathsheba Burgess was born about 1734 in Stafford Co., possibly the daughter of William Courtney or John Courtney; after her first husband’s death, she married a widower, Ralph Hughes, about 1781 (a Stafford Co. deed of 12 May 1781 [Liber #S, p. 63] mentions Ralph Hughes and ___ his wife), but in any case no later than 10 Oct. 1785, when, in the first of four deeds recorded in Oct. and Nov., Ralph Hughes and Bathsheba his wife sold their lands in Stafford Co. (see particularly Liber #S, p. 270). Ralph Hughes was born about 1726, son of John Hughes. He is missing from the Stafford Co. voters’ list of Apr. 1786. The Hughes family moved to Bourbon Co., KY by 1787, when Ralph Hughes is listed on that county’s first personal property tax roll; he bought 100 acres of land there on Flat Run on 20 Mar. 1787 from Isaac and Elizabeth Ruddle (Deed Book #A, p. 40). Ralph died by July 1803 (Bourbon Co. Order Book #C, p. 330); in his settlement deed (Deed Book #6, p. 128, dated 15 Nov. 1802, witnessed by Tho. Howard, John Jacobs, and “Henery Burges,” Bathsheba’s son); Bathsheba was given one-fourth of Ralph’s land and two “Negroes” to maintain a home until her own death, after which the remaining property was to be divided among his own children, John, James, William, and George Hughes. Edward Burgess is noted as a debtor to Ralph’s estate in his initial inventory (Bourbon Co. Will Book #B, p. 254, recorded at the Nov. 1804 court). Bathsheba Hughes died on 16 Sept. 1823 in Bourbon Co., KY (the date is recorded in her son Edward Burgess’s family Bible record), aged about 86-88 years; her estate is probated in Will Book #G, p. 130-131. William and Bathsheba Burges undoubtedly had more children than those listed below, but their names and fates remain unrecorded.
The Children of William Burges:
4a. William (III). According to a family tradition among the descendants of Edward Burgess of Scott Co., KY, Edward had an older brother named William who served in the Revolutionary War. William, if he exists, had to have been born in 1755 or 1759 (probably the former). The 24 May 1779 petition of Stafford Co. freeholders to the House of the Burgesses (State Legislature), asking that courthouse be relocated to a more central position in the county, seems to confirm the story, since it includes the name of William Burgess, Jr., the only such record known (his father would still have been alive at this time). This appears to be the same William Burgess who is listed on the Stafford Co. personal property tax rolls between 1784-87; the 1785 list, which includes the total number of white souls at each freehold, lists four whites under William’s name, presumably himself, a wife, and two children. This cannot be Reuben Burgess’s son, William, who is under-aged and unmarried at this time, or any other known relative. William disappeared from the Stafford County records in 1788, either dying or moving away. Relationship not verified.
4b. Margaret (III) “Peggy”. Born about 1757 in Stafford Co., VA. Married John Hughes by 1786 (he was born 24 Dec. 1756 [Overwharton Parish Register] in Stafford Co., VA, the son of Ralph Hughes, her stepfather, and Margaret Ferguson, and died Sept. 1829 in Bourbon Co., KY), and moved with them to Kentucky about 1786, where they had at least the following children: Ralph II (died 1829); Elizabeth (born about 1800, living with John Todd in 1850-60); Maria (born 1802; married John S. Todd on 15 Dec. 1830 [he was a cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln]); Susan (married ___ Bledsoe).
John and Peggy Hughes sold their land in Stafford Co. on 7 Sept. 1786 (Stafford Co. Liber #S, p. 369). John is listed in the personal property records of Bourbon Co. from 1787-1829. Peggy Hughes is recorded as aged 95 years in the 1850 census for Bourbon Co., KY with John S. Todd (her son-in-law) and Betsy Hughes. She died on 22 Dec. 1852 at Ruddles Mill, Bourbon Co., KY, and is listed in the official Bourbon County death records as the daughter of William and Bathsheba Burgess of Stafford Co., VA, aged 95 years [sic].
4c. Bathsheba (I) “Basha” or “Bashy.” She is also called Barsheba. Born about 1765 in Stafford Co., VA. Married James Hughes about 1789 (he was born about 1760 in Stafford Co., VA, son of Ralph Hughes, her stepfather, and Margaret Ferguson, and died 1812 in Bourbon Co.), and moved with them to Bourbon Co., KY about 1786. They had at least the following children: Mason (born about 1790, married Hannah Turley on 1 Nov. 1809, and died 1847); George (married Christiana “Shanny” Parker on 30 May 1808 or Polly Case on 19 Dec. 1809, and died July 1840 near Paris, KY); John M. (born 1798 in Bourbon Co., KY, married Lucy Standeford on 27 Nov. 1824); Enoch (born about 1800, married Polly Northcutt [or Nathart] on 28 Jan. 1822, living in Missouri in 1847); Annis “Nancy” (married ___ McGuffin).
James Hughes is listed in the personal property tax records of Bourbon Co. from 1787-1812. His will (Bourbon Co. Will Book #D, p. 281, dated 15 Jan. 1812, probated Sept. 1812) mentions his wife, the five children listed above, and his brother, John; the probate record (p. 307-308) notes his brother-in-law, Henry Burgess (who by this time is a resident of Fleming Co., KY), as a debtor to his estate.
After Duncan’s death, Bashy Hughes married Elias Duncan on 21 Aug. 1813 in Bourbon Co., KY (he also died before her). She moved to Missouri in Oct. 1837, back to Kentucky in Sept. 1838, to Calloway Co., MO in Aug. 1845, and back again in Fall 1847, living with her son, John Hughes, at Paris, KY. She is listed (aged 85 years) in the 1850 census for Franklin Co., KY with her son, John Hughes. Barsheba Duncan filed a lawsuit in the 1841 against some of her children and grandchildren (Bourbon Co. court records), alleging breach of contract and lack of material support. From these documents, it is clear that she was alive as late as mid-1852.
A 12 Dec. 1851 letter from G. W. Hughes of Millersburg, KY to his brother (Daniel?) says: “...Old Aunt Peggy is still alive—don’t know how her general health is at present—The balance of the family are well—Aunt Beersheba is living with one of her brothers in Scott County....” According to a deposition made in the above-mentioned lawsuit, “She is a woman of great imbecility. She knew nothing at all about business.” Relationship not verified, but probable.
A Letter from Bathsheba Hughes to Her Son, Mason Hughes, 1837
Dear son,
I am still firm in my mind to move out with you this fall provided you don’t think it too much trouble to come for me. I wrote to Franklin Northcut this spring to come and move me out [to Missouri] this fall. I received his answer. He said he would come if I would do so and so. He had too many provisors [sic] which must be reduced to a certainty if he come to suit me. As I told him as plain as I could to come and sell my land and Negrows to the highest bidder and settle my business, and he should have what little was coming to me. I think he appeared somewhat doubtful of me. Now Mason, if you will come and sell my wright in my land and Negrows and settle all my business here, I will go out with you with out fail if life lasts, and live with you the ballance of my days. Mason, all I want is a support. I intend to relinquish all I have to you for a support in my last days, as they can’t be many. Of course, Mason, I am bound to move somewhere this fall, as my wood is all gone, and John treated me like a stranger. So if you won’t come for me, God nows what I shal do. Mason, have confidence in me, you may depend on my complying with every word. I say here if God will spare my life to see you, Mason, if you conclude to come, I would like for you to be here about the first of September so you may have time to settle my business. I don’t intend to moove nothing but one bed and beding, therefore, I want you to conclude if you come whether or not wee had beter gow by water. Mason, I want you to write to me the same day you receive this leter, and let me now what I may depend on, and direct your leter to John S. Todd at Paris. My last request is, my dear son, don’t fail to come. I am happy to say to you I am in good health at this time, and a fine crop a growing.
Your affectionate mother, Bashaba Huges
Mason, as respects Aunt Basha there is no doubt in my mind that she will comply with what she says. She will have to moove without doubt. I am satisfied she prefers to live with you. If you come you may depend on my returning with you. Yours with high esteem, John S. Todd.
4d. Henry (I) [son of William (II)]. Born about 1775 in Stafford Co., VA. Married Elizabeth Mauzy on 12 May 1797 in Bourbon Co., KY (she was a daughter of Peter Mauzy, a Revolutionary War veteran, who was born in 1751 in Stafford Co., VA, son of Henry Mauzy, and died in Fleming Co., KY on 15 Aug. 1841, aged 90 years), and Sarah Hughes (she was born 1760, possibly a daughter of Ralph Hughes, and died 1833). Listed in the Bourbon Co. personal property tax records of 1797 and 1803, in Fleming Co. from 1800-01 and 1804-13, and in the 1810 census for Fleming Co. Henry Burgess was a farmer in Bourbon and Fleming Cos., KY. He last appears in the official records on 5 July 1813, when he is appointed by the Fleming Co. court to work on the county roads. According to an account penned ninety years after his death by his grandson, Isaac Burgess, Henry was shot and killed at Vincennes, Indiana—this cannot be confirmed from Knox Co., IN (Vincennes) records. On 3 Mar. 1814 his eldest son, William, was apprenticed to a tanner (Order Book #C, p. 374), with Henry specifically being mentioned as deceased. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth Burgess was granted administration of Henry’s estate. Isaac Franklin Burgess calls his grandfather “Harrison Burgess” in a letter written in 1903 (see his entry).
The relationship between Henry, Elizabeth, and their six children is documented in a series of lawsuits filed between 1839-56 in the Fleming Co. courts between the Burgess and Mauzy heirs (see particularly Case #7119), between John and Wash Burgess and the Rhodens, and between William Burgess’s widow and a squatter on her land; Henry is specifically cited in these records as having come from Bourbon Co. Henry’s relationship to his father and siblings can only be demonstrated circumstantially: Henry witnessed the settlement deed of his stepfather, Ralph Hughes, in Bourbon Co. on 15 Nov. 1802 (Deed Book #6, p. 128), and is listed as a debtor to the estate of his stepbrother and brother-in-law, James Hughes, who died in Bourbon Co. in 1812 (Bourbon Co. Will Book #D, p. 307). Henry’s grandson, George Washington Burgess (V), married Marietta Dungan, granddaughter of Edward Burgess of Scott Co., KY, in 1850 in Harrison Co., KY. Marietta at this time was a ward of her uncle, Joseph Burgess, who gave his written permission for the marriage. George Burgess was raised in Indiana; Marietta Dungan was raised in Scott Co.—the two could not have met accidentally. This cousin relationship is confirmed by oral tradition among the descendants of George and Marietta Burgess. Henry named his oldest son William and his oldest daughter Bathsheba; Edward, his brother, named his oldest son William and his second daughter Bathsheba (the first daughter having been named for his wife’s mother).
Elizabeth Mauzy Burgess was born about 1780 in Stafford Co., VA. She appears on the tax lists as head of the family from 1814-44, and deeds her property to her sons on 3 Apr. 1844; her estate was appraised on 28 May 1844 (Fleming Co. Will Book #G, p. 501). She left no will.
5a. William (VII). Born 1798 in Bourbon Co., KY. Married Julia Ann “Juliann” Bradshaw about 1831, probably in Bath Co., KY (she was born about 1815 in Bath Co., and died after 1860 in Indiana), and had children: Penelope (I) (she may be the same person as the Minerva Burgess mentioned in an 1857 lawsuit filed in Fleming Co. over William’s estate; born about 1833 in Bath Co., KY, married John R. [or S.] Vancleave on 24 Nov. 1853 in Parke Co., IN, and appears to have died by 1860); (James) Franklin (I) (born 12 Mar. 1835 in Bath Co., KY, married Elizabeth Tippen on 8 Apr. 1863 in Putnam Co., IN [she died 7 Nov. 1864], and secondly Sarah M. Bogan on 2 Mar. 1869 in Clinton Co., IN, and died there on 13 Jan. 1928); (Mary) Elizabeth (born Mar. 1840 in Fleming Co., KY, probably married James F. Long on 4 Feb. 1855 in Parke Co., IN, and died between 1910-20 in Clinton Co., IN); Norcissa “Nora” (born about 1843 in Bath Co., KY, listed in the 1860 census with her mother); Lucinda “Lucy” (born about 1846 in Fleming Co., KY, married Henry Cain on 28 Sept. 1865 in Clinton Co., IN, and died there after 1880).
William Burgess lived variously in Bath Co., KY (where he served as County Constable from 1842-44) and Fleming Co., KY. He died on 16 Sept. 1847 in Phillips Co., AR, while on a trip. Juliann Burgess, his widow, settled in Parke Co., IN, on a plot next to that of her brother-in-law, John H. Burgess, but had moved by 1860 to Russell Township, Putnam Co., IN, probably dying there in the 1860s.
5b. John Henry (I). Born 15 July 1801 in Bourbon Co., KY. Married Martha “Patsy” Lawson on 18 Feb. 1824 in Fleming Co., KY (she was born 11 May 1807 in Fleming Co., the daughter of Jacob Lawson and Sarah “Sallie” Pollard or Rice, and died on 30 Sept. 1887 in Blue Earth Co., MN), and had children: Rev. William Henry (I) (born 10 Jan. 1825 in Rush Co., IN, married Eliza A. Bettis on 10 Oct. 1845 in Parke Co., IN, and died on 6 Mar. 1904 at Brookfield, MO); George Washington (V) “Wash” (born 24 Aug 1826 in Marion Co., IN, married his second cousin, Marietta Dungan, on 23 Mar. 1850 in Harrison Co., KY, and died on 22 Sept. 1917 in Carroll Co., MO); John Marion (I) (born 25 Mar. 1828 in Fleming Co., KY, married Mary Jane Davis on 27 Oct. 1852, and died on 25 Aug. 1909 in Montgomery Co., IN); Lucinda Jane “Cindy” (born 9 May [or 31 Jan.] 1830 in Fleming Co., KY, married Thomas Reeder on 29 May 1851 in Parke Co., IN, and died on 2 Oct. [or 4 Oct.] 1906 in Blue Earth Co., MN); Jacob Lawson (I) “Jake” (born 26 Jan. 1832 in Fleming Co., KY, married Maranda Bell on 9 Dec. 1852 in Vigo Co., IN, and died on 12 [or 15] Dec. 1881 in Blue Earth Co., MN); Thomas Fleming (born 5 Feb. 1833 at Portland Mills, Parke Co., IN, married Sarah Jane Harris on 1 Jan. 1857 in Adams Co., IL, and died on 7 Feb. 1911 in Whitman Co., WA); Monroe Harrison (born about 1835 in Parke Co., IN, died there an infant); James Sylvester “Vest” (born Oct. 1837 in Parke Co., IN, married his first cousin, Minerva Lawson, on 13 July 1856 in Parke Co., IN, and died about 1901 in Jefferson Co., IL); Harrison Monroe “Hack” (born 20 Feb. 1840 in Parke Co., IN, married Orphelia Deyette “Etta” Enfield on 18 Apr. 1878 in Blue Earth Co., MN, and died there on 9 July 1891); Martha A(nn?) (born 3 Dec. 1842 in Parke Co., IN, married Elial H. Dickerson on 21 Feb. 1861 in Ramsey Co., MN, and secondly Freeman A. Cate on 30 Sept. 1866 in Blue Earth Co., MN, and died there on 3 Jan. 1881); Barton Warren (born 1844 in Parke Co., IN, and died there in 1848); Miranda Jane “Nan” or “Mandy” (born 7 May 1846 in Parke Co., IN, married Gabriel A. Pickle on 22 Mar. 1866 in Blue Earth Co., MN, and died on 17 Feb. 1932 at Long Beach, Los Angeles Co., CA); Sarah Isabell (born 15 Nov. 1849 in Parke Co., IN, married Franklin W. “Fred” Simonds on 13 June 1867 in Blue Earth Co., MN, and died on 15 Jan. 1909 at Topeka, KS); Edmund (II) (born about 1852 in Parke Co., IN, and died there on 29 Jan. 1855).
John Henry Burgess moved from Fleming Co., KY, to Rush Co., IN, in 1824, returned in 1827 to Fleming Co., moved in 1832 to Parke Co., IN, in 1856 to Blue Earth Co., MN, returned a year later to Putnam Co., IN, returned to Blue Earth Co. in 1860, and died there on 20 July 1891, being buried in the Burgess Cemetery.
5c. Bathsheba (II) (variously Barsheba) “Sheba.” Born 6 Jan. 1803 in Bourbon Co., KY. Married Joseph Rhoden on 16 Dec. 1824 in Fleming Co., KY (he was born 15 Oct. [or 11 Dec.] 1800 in Fleming Co., KY, probably the son of Thomas Rhoden and Susanna Beaty, and died on 26 June 1880 in Vigo Co., IN), and had children: William Burgess (born 28 Dec. 1825 in Fleming Co., KY, married Nancy Harmon on 28 Oct. 1847 [she was born about 1831 in KY, and was living in 1880], and died 30 June 1885); Amanda D. (born 1828 in Fleming Co., KY, married David M. Fuqua in 1846 [he was the son of Washington R. Fuqua and Rebecca Wilson], and died on 15 Nov. 1895 at Edgar Co., IL); Eunice Elizabeth (born 12 Aug. 1829 in Fleming Co., KY, married Peter Norton Barnes on 14 Aug. 1852, and died on 26 Mar. 1917 at Brokenbow, NE); Emily E. (born about 1837 in Fleming Co., KY); Martha J. F. (born about 1842 in Fleming Co., KY).
Joseph and Barsheba Rhoden are listed in the 1830-50 censuses for the Third District, Fleming Co., KY. The Rhodens sold their land in Fleming Co. on 1 Dec. 1852, and moved to Elbridge Township, Edgar Co., IL, where they appear on the 1860 census. By 1870 they had moved just across the county/state line into nearby Fayette Township, at Sandford, Vigo Co., IN, and are also listed there in the 1880 census. Sheba Rhoden died there on 6 July 1880, a few days after her husband, and is buried with him in the Rose Hill Cemetery, near Sandford, Fayette Township, Vigo Co., IN.
5d. (George) Washington (II). Born 5 Mar. 1805 in Fleming Co., KY. Married Lucinda C. Pearce or Pierce, reputedly a cousin of President Franklin Pierce, on 13 Sept. 1830 in Fleming Co., KY (she was born 1 Nov. 1813 in KY, and died on 1 Dec. 1851 in Fleming Co.). They had children: (Isaac) Franklin (born 25 Feb. 1833 in Fleming Co., married Mary Louise Thomas on 13 Sept. 1860 in Fleming Co., and died there on 4 May 1912); Amanda Jane (born 21 Nov. 1835 in Fleming Co., and died there unmarried on 13 Jan. 1916); (William) Thomas (I) (born 12 Sept. 1837 in Fleming Co., married Lucy W. Hawkins on 7 May 1863 in Nicholas Co., KY, and second Bertha Hawkins, and died on 5 Apr. 1930 in Nicholas Co.); Mary (IX) (born 9 July 1838 in Fleming Co.); Henry Clay (I) (born 25 Nov. 1840 in Fleming Co., married Louisa J. Paxton on 1 Dec. 1865 in Fleming Co., and secondly Mrs. Dorcas Newcomb on 19 June 1900 in Fleming Co., and died there on 21 Sept. [or 17 Aug.] 1907); Martha M. (born 14 Nov. 1842 in Fleming Co., married George Washington Magowan or Magowen on 25 Jan. 1871 in Fleming Co., and died there on 14 Mar. 1880); Rebecca (III) (born 10 Feb. 1845 in Fleming Co., married George Peck on 30 Oct. 1872 in Fleming Co., and died there on 18 May 1923); Elizabeth (XV) “Lizzie” (born 23 Mar. 1847 in Fleming Co., and died there on 10 Mar. 1857 or 1858); Lucinda B(athsheba?) “Lucy” (born 1 Sept. 1849 in Fleming Co., married Daniel Presley Hysong on 2 Sept. 1880 in Fleming Co., and died there on 13 May 1888); John Pearce (born 15 Nov. 1851 in Fleming Co., married Nannie D. Moran on 23 Dec. 1890 in Fleming Co., and died on 27 July 1935 in Bourbon Co., KY).
5e. Margaret (V). Born about 1809 (or 1811) in Fleming Co., KY. Married Simeon Harmon on 28 Feb. 1833 in Fleming Co. (he was born about 1811 in KY, brother of Elijah Harmon, who married Margaret’s sister, Sarah A. Burgess; the marriage being conducted by her cousin, Rev. Thomas Mauzy, son of Peter Mauzy, her grandfather). Their children included: John H(enry?) (born about 1835); James M. (born about 1836); Joab (born about 1842, served in the Union Army, and was living in Fleming Co. in 1890); Mary E. (born about 1843); Amanda J. (born about 1845). Listed in the 1850 census for Fleming Co., KY; her husband appears there in 1860-70. Margaret Harmon evidently died in Fleming Co. between 1850-60.
5f. Sarah A. (I). Born about 1811 (or 1809) in Fleming Co., KY. Married Rev. Elijah T. Harmon on 17 Feb. 1833 in Fleming Co. (he was born in 1814 in KY, brother of Simeon Harmon, who married Sarah’s sister, Margaret Burgess; the marriage being conducted by her cousin, Rev. Thomas Mauzy, and died in 1888, being buried in the Concord Cemetery). Their children included: Wesley H. (born about 1833, married Ellen Ann Scott); William (born about 1835); Morton E. (born about 1838); Minerva E. (born about 1839, married John Preston on 2 Oct. 1858 in Fleming Co.); John G. (born about 1841); Emily (born about 1844); James H. (born about 1847). Listed in the 1850-70 censuses (listed as age 56 in 1870) for the Sherburne District, Fleming Co., KY. Sarah evidently died between 1870-80, since her husband, Elijah Harmon, is living alone with her brother and his brother-in-law, Wash Burgess, in the 1880 census.
Excerpts from Fleming County Case #7119, Burgess vs. Mausey
(November 1840)
To the Honorable the Judge of the Fleming Circuit Court in Chancery sitting, your orators William Burgess, John Burgess, George W. Burgess, Joseph Roden and Barsheba his wife, Elijah T. Harmon, and Sarah his wife formerly Sarah Burgess, and Simeon Harmon and Margaret his wife, heirs of Henry Burgess, deceased, and Elizabeth Burgess, widow of said Henry Burgess, deceased, humbly complaining respectfully represent to your honor, that on or about the [blank] day of 1810, the said Henry Burgess entered into an agreement with Peter Mausey for the purchase of a certain tract of land in the county of Fleming and State of Kentucky, for which a certain John Fowler then held the legal title. By said agreement it was stipulated that the said Mausey should purchase and take the title to himself a portion of said tract of land containing about one hundred and fifty acres, and that he should procure the legal title of the balance thereof, being about fifty acres for the said Henry Burgess and in his sd Burgess’ name. And at the same time the said Henry Burgess paid into the hands of said Peter Mausey a certain horse of the full value of one hundred and fifty dollars, and also the sum of twenty pounds in money; which horse and money constituted the full price and consideration for said fifty acres of land: the said Mausey then agreeing to procure the title for said fifty acres of land from said Fowler, who then resided in Fayette county in said State, to which county said Mausey was about to go for the purpose of getting a deed of conveyance for said one hundred and fifty acres of land; having previously negotiated with the agent of said Fowler for the same, that is to say, for the whole of said tract, one hundred and fifty acres thereof being for himself, and fifty acres for said Henry Burgess. Said two parcels of land being divided by a certain division line passing through a fine spring, so as to give to each of them the benefits of said spring. After the payment of said consideration by said Henry Burgess, the said Peter Mausey paid the same and no other consideration over to said Fowler, but instead of getting a title for said parcel of fifty acres to and in the name of said Henry Burgess, said Peter Mausey fraudulently took a deed and procured the title from said Fowler in his own name for the whole tract, a copy of which deed is now herewith filed marked as voucher “A” and made a part of this bill. Upon the making of said agreement between said Henry Burgess and said Peter Mausey and the completion of the negotiation for the purchase of said land with William Prout, the agent of said Fowler, said Henry Burgess obtained the possession from said agent of said fifty acres of land, and held possession for several years—and then leased it to George Mausey, who had possession about [blank] years, and then gave possession to John Burgess who afterwards transferred the possession thereof to said William Burgess, who had possession about [blank] years, when the said Peter Mausey forcibly entered and took possession thereof, and has the possession ever since, a period of ten years. In the meantime, to wit, on the [blank] day of [blank] 1813, said Henry Burgess departed this life intestate, leaving said Elizabeth his widow and your other orators and oratrixes his heirs at law.
Your orators and oratrixes charge that by the law of the land, a trust in said fifty acres of land resulted to said Henry Burgess; he having paid the consideration and placed the same in the hands of said Mausey to procure the title, and said Mausey agreeing to obtain a deed for the conveyance of the same to said Henry Burgess. They also charge that said Peter Mausey received the rents on and profits of said fifty acres of land for ten years, and that he appropriated the same to his own use and benefit; they charge that the rents and profits so received by said Mausey were of the annual value of one hundred dollars. They further charge that said Peter Mausey had in the life time of said Henry Burgess often promised and agreed and [sic] with Henry Burgess to convey to him the legal title to said Henry. But which he failed to convey, and has ever since failed, and still fails, and refuses to do. They charge that in equity and good conscience said Peter Mausey is bound to convey to them the legal title of said parcel of fifty acres of land, according to the boundaries thereof and the division line aforesaid. Said division line running so as to cut off said fifty acres on the North West side of said two hundred acres, and to crop said spring in such manner as to give an equal part thereof to each of said parcels of land. The boundaries of said fifty acres will therefore be as follows, to wit, beginning at [large space], the same will be seen on reference to the inventory aforesaid, being on said evidence of said tract of land. In order that justice may be done in the premises your orators and oratrixes pray that said Peter Mausey be made a defendant to this bill, and that he be compelled to answer the same on oath; to set forth all the agreement made in relation to said purchase and the payment of the consideration for said fifty acres of land by said Henry Burgess; as well as all other matters and things herein contained, charged, and set forth. And upon final hearing that your honor order and decree that said Peter Mausey execute to your orators and oratrixes, widow and heirs as aforesaid, a good and sufficient deed of conveyance of said fifty acres of land; and they pray for all such further relief in the premises as to equity belong, and their case may require, and that said Peter Mausey be ordered to pay over to them such rents and profits of said land as shall appear to be due them from him and to surrender to them the possession of the said fifty acres of land.
—John S. Cavan, solicitor for compts.
The deposition of Jacob Lawson taken at the office of John S. Cavan, in the town of Flemingsburg, on the 17th day of February 1840:
This deponent being of lawful age and first duly sworn, deposeth as follows, to wit, he knows where the land lies on which Peter Mausey the defendent now lives—and which he occupies, but does not know how much there is in the tract. The land was originally the land of John Fowler, and was in possession of Henry Rice and Thomas Miller, and the said Peter Mausey and Henry Burgess the father of the complaintants, purchased the right of said Rice and Miller, and their right was only for the improvements so far as this respondent knows. They may have had a contract of purchase of the land. Said Rice and Miller were the first settlers on said land—and each of them had cabins on the land and some improvements, but deponent cannot tell what particular improvements—nor can he tell how lengthy they had been in possession—but thinks not many years. The defendant has been in possession of the land, deponent thinks, thirty years or upwards. Said Henry Burgess settled on part of the land occupied by Mr. Miller above named—and purchased the improvement of said Miller. The cabins of said Rice and Miller were not very far apart, not more, deponent thinks, than four or five hundred yards. The cabin of Rice stood near where said Mausey’s house now stands, and the cabin of Miller stood in the direction of the house where William Browning now lives, being a north westwardly course from the cabin of Rice. This deponent was the first settler in the part of the country where said land lies.
Question by defendant’s counsel: Did not Peter Mausey and Henry Burgess move from Bourbon County when they bought out the improvement rights of Rice and Miller?
Answer: They did, and Henry Burgess was the son in law of said Peter Mausey. Peter Mausey moved onto the land about two years after Henry Burgess. After Henry Burgess had been living on the land, some short time, he and Peter Mausey passed by my house on horseback and stopped a short time. I then understood from them that they bought out the claims of the before-mentioned Rice and Miller, and as they were going in the direction of Bourbon, I supposed that they were returning to Bourbon County. This was before Peter Mausey moved onto the land. I did not hear them say anything at the time at having bought the legal title to the land from Fowler, the original proprietor.
Question by defendant: How long did Henry Burgess live on the land?
Answer: I cannot tell the length of time. I think that after he left he went back to Paris in Bourbon County. He afterwards returned to the neighborhood and lived some years, but I do not know whether he ever lived at the same place.
Question: Did Henry Burgess give up the possession of the land to Peter Mausey?
Answer: I do not know to whom. Jno. Mausey, a son of Peter Mausey, had possession of it after Henry Burgess left it for a considerable length of time.
Question: Was not Mr. Fowler a large proprietor of land in the neighborhood?
Answer: He was. I do not know at what time [he] sold it. The improvements of Miller and Rice above spoken of were on Fowler’s land. Whether they had any liberty from Fowler to settle on the land I do not know. It was very customary then for a person to settle down on land without any right, and to sell out the improvements. Miller had been shifting about from one place to another, and had made and sold several improvements.
Question: Do you know of any agent that Fowler had attending to his land in Fleming?
Answer: At the time that P. Mausey & Henry Burgess moved on to the land, I do not know that Fowler had any agent in the neighborhood. Some time after that, Gen. Fletcher acted as the agent of Fowler. I do not know of Routt ever acting as the agent of Fowler in relation to his lands in this neighborhood.
Question: After Henry Burgess removed back from Bourbon, did he not live again near you, and did you hear of any claim that he set up to any part of the land in possession of Peter Mausey?
Answer: After he returned, he lived near me on my side of the branch from Peter Mausey’s land. I did not hear of any dispute then. All the land was in Fowler’s claims, and when he returned I think he lived on a part of the same land that was purchased of Rice and Miller, but not at the place he first settled on. And further deponent sayeth not.—Jacob Lawson.
The deposition of Henry Rice taken the 20th day of May 1840:
...At the time of purchasing the said improvements, said Peter Mausey stated that he was purchasing the improvement occupied by deponent for his son-in-law—and said Mausey at that time had no son-in-law but said Henry Burgess....Said Peter Mausey about a year or so after the purchase of the improvements purchased the said land and he paid horses for the land. One of the horses which went to pay for the land was gotten from John Mausey, a son of said Peter, and said John got another horse in his place from said Henry Burgess. Said horse of Henry Burgess was to go toward payment of the land. But it did not satisfy Fowler, and therefore John Mausey furnished one in its place. Burgess (said Henry) got possession of the land, which deponent understands to be the same now claimed by the complainants, being on the north western part of the tract, a few months, or a short time after said purchase of improvements was made, and retained the possession two or three years, and cleared and fenced and cultivated some of the land, but deponent cannot now say how much. Some time, deponent thinks about the time Burgess left said land, deponent heard Mausey say he would not make Burgess a title because he was in the habit of drinking, and also at same time that he had not paid him for the land, and stated that some difficulty had occurred between said Burgess and Mausey in relation to said land, said Burgess wanting Mausey to convey the legal title to him for the part he occupied....
Question by defendant: Do you know the reason why Henry Burgess left the land and moved away?
Answer: I understood it was because he & Peter Mausey had a difficulty about the land & Peter Mausey refused to make him a deed to any part of it. The exchange of horses above spoken of took place before the difficulty between Henry Burgess and Peter Mausey.
Question: At the time you heard Peter Mausey say he would not make a deed to H. Burgess for the land did he say he was very intemperate & that if he made him a deed he would run through & spend it?
Answer: I think P. Mausey remarked to me that H. Burgess was in the habit of drinking too much, & that he had not complied with his contract. I knew H. Burgess at the time, & I considered him very intemperate.
The response of Peter Mauzy, 10 Sept. 1839:
...This respondent denies most positively that he ever made a promise to the said Henry Burgess decd. to make him a deed to the said fifty acres of land in his life time or at any other time to any of his heirs or any other person. Your respondent does not know how it is that the said complainants can make allegations such as are contained in their Bill. He does not know how such things could have entered into their minds. This respondent never dreamed of any such thing & he had no idea that in his old age any such thing was to come to pass to disturb him in the peaceful possession of the little farm he has honestly labored & paid for with his own means & no other. He does not know with what other design the complainants could have filed their Bill against him but to harass and distress him & he does not know what evidence they may produce to sustain their claim. He charges, however, that the said complainants have no right whatever to maintain any such a suit against him: that none of the matters of their said Bill in relation [to] the pretended agreement between Henry Burgess & this respondent are true. He never made any such agreement; he never received any consideration from said Burgess to pay to Fowler for land, and the whole claim set up by the said complainants is false and fraudulent....—Peter Mauzy.
4f. Edward (V) “Ned.” Born 24 Nov. 1777 in Stafford Co., VA. Married Sarah Fields on 6 Feb. 1800 in Bourbon Co., KY. She was born Jan. 1781 in Maryland, the daughter of Joseph Fields, a Revolutionary War veteran from Frederick Co., MD, and Nancy Noland, both of whom had died by 1784; and was brought to Kentucky with her brother, Greenberry Fields, by their uncle, Abraham Fields, according to a long statement in Edward Burgess’s surviving Bible record; Sarah Burgess died on 27 Nov. 1839 in Scott Co., and is buried with her husband.
Ned Burgess was brought to Kentucky about 1786 by his stepfather, Ralph Hughes, who settled near Paris, Bourbon Co., KY. In 10 Oct. 1797 he acted as legal heir of his father, William Burgess (who had been an executor for Ned’s grandfather, Edward Burges), in selling the land that the original Edward had bought for his family in 1731 in King George Co., VA (Deed Book #8, p. 145-147); the other principals in the sale were the legal heirs of the senior Edward’s other executor, Garner Burges. Hence, Ned Burgess is provably descended from Edward Burges of King George and Stafford Cos., VA. Ned appears on the tax lists of Bourbon Co. from 1799-1800 and on the tax lists of Scott Co., KY from 1799-1857, and is listed in the census records there from 1810-50.
Ned Burgess settled on Eagle Creek in the eastern section of Scott Co. (the so-called “Turkey Foot District”), and systematically expanded his holdings until he had accumulated a large estate. On a hill overlooking his property he erected a house constructed to his exact specifications (which still survive in a letter owned by William Addison Thomson); this house burned some years after his death. He died on his farm on 26 Mar. 1858, probably the last of his brothers and sisters to die (the date is confirmed from the surviving handwritten instructions sent by his executors to the stone mason to purchase the original headstone for his grave). He was originally buried in a family plot set aside on his estate in the Old Elklick Cemetery; but when his lands were sold earlier in this century, the family disentombed all but one of the Burgess relatives buried there, and moved them in 1919 to a large plot in the southern section of the Georgetown Cemetery, Georgetown, KY, where they surround a small, Grecian-style temple emblazoned with the name “Burgess” across the top. Ned’s Bible record still survives in his family. His probate record (Scott Co. Will Book #N, p. 363-365) mentions his nine children then living.
5a. Nancy (III). Born 5 Jan. 1801 in Scott Co., KY. Married Cyrus Jaco on 9 Jan. 1821 in Scott Co., KY (he was born 26 May 1795, son of Theodore and Sarah Jaco, and died 7 Sept. 1877 in Shelby Co., IN), and had at least the following children: Theadore (born 29 Oct. 1822 in Scott Co., KY, married Mary Price on 12 July 1849 in Scott Co., and died 7 Feb. 1907 in Shelby Co., IN); William Edward (born 17 Jan. 1826 in Scott Co., KY, married Mary Ann Newton on 2 June 1849 in Scott Co., and died on 5 Sept. 1898 in Shelby Co., IN, buried Mt. Pisgah Cemetery); Mariah E. (her name is also spelled Maria; born 1833 in Scott Co., KY, and died after 1860); Mary E. (born 1838 in Shelby Co., IN); Eliza I. (born 1840 in Shelby Co., IN).
Nancy Jaco is listed in the 1830 census for Scott Co., KY, and in 1840-60 in Addison Township, Shelby Co., IN. The Jacos settled in Shelby Co., IN about 1835. Nancy Jaco died there on 16 Mar. 1874, and is buried with her husband and two adult sons in the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery, just east of Shelbyville, IN.
5b. (William) Calvin (I). Born 5 Oct. 1802 in Scott Co., KY. He never married, but had a son by his housekeeper, Nancy A. Tucker, and adopted him as his sole heir: (James Knox) Polk (I) (born 28 Mar. 1844 in Scott Co., KY, married Susan Ann Wells on 17 Apr. 1878 in Scott Co., and died there on 21 Mar. 1917). Calvin Burgess died on 21 May 1859 in Scott Co., and is buried on his farm.
5c. Bathsheba (III). Her name was also spelled Barsheba or Bashaba. Born 22 Aug. 1804 in Scott Co., KY. Married Henry Bruce Drake about 1829 (he was born 4 Jan. 1810, son of Thomas Drake and Rachel Peak [who was the daughter of John Peak, a Revolutionary War soldier, and Jamima Peak], and died 9 Mar. 1846 in Scott Co., KY), and had children: James W. (born 1830 in Scott Co., KY, married Josephine Brockman on 10 June 1857 in Scott Co. [she was born 1827 in KY], and died after 1860); George Edward William (born 18 Jan. 1832 in Scott Co., KY, served in the medical corps of the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and was stationed at Tunnel Hill, GA; he married Elvira M. Gurr on 18 Jan. 1866 in Houston Co., GA (she was born 13 Nov. 1840 in Houston Co., daughter of Samuel Gurr and Elizabeth Bishop, and died 17 Sept. 1901 at Sadieville, KY), and died on 20 Jan. 1880 at Lytles Fork [now Sadieville], Scott Co., KY; Mary Ann (born 1835, married John Tucker on 13 July 1859 in Scott Co. [he was born 1826]); Sarah Maria (born 22 Feb. 1836 in Scott Co., KY, married her first cousin, William Edward Jaco, on 19 Aug. 1856 in Scott Co., and died 2 Dec. 1924 in Shelby Co., IN); Susannah Ellen “Susellen” (born 1841, married her first cousin, Benjamin Kenn Burgess, on 7 Feb. 1867 in Scott Co., and died between 1880-88, leaving one son, James Edward).
Bathsheba Drake is listed in the 1850 census for Scott Co., KY as head of her family, in 1860 with her son, James, and in the Scott Co. tax lists through 1865. Bathsheba Drake was a farmer in Scott Co., KY. She died there early in 1865 (her inventory, dated 21 Mar. 1865, appears in Scott Co. Will Book #P, pages 200-201, 215-216, and 280-281). Information on the Drake family was supplied by Mae Price, Pauline Marler, and Chris Glass.
5d. Mariah (I). Her name was also spelled Maria, and is listed on her tomb as Myriah. Born 22 Oct. 1806 in Scott Co., KY. Married George William Bates on 18 Oct. 1827 in Scott Co. (he was born 4 July 1806 at Berkshire, MA, son of William Randall Bates, and was killed by his nephew, Polk Burgess, on 7 Aug. 1866), and had children: Sarah A. (born 24 June 1828, died 27 June 1828); Mary A. (born 23 Apr. 1829, died 13 Nov. 1830); William Edward (born 8 Aug. 1830, married Ann Eliza Reed on 26 June 1860 in Scott Co. [she was born 20 June 1837, and died 15 July 1912, buried Bates-Parker Cemetery], served as a school teacher, magistrate, Deputy Scott Co. Clerk, and Judge, and died on 3 Jan. 1912 in Scott Co., being buried in the Lancaster Cemetery; his biography appeared in the Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky (Chicago: John M. Gresham Co., 1896, p. 233-234); Richard Henry (born 12 May 1832, married Elizabeth F. Fleetwood on 22 Dec. 1857 in Scott Co. [she was born 14 Jan. 1835, and died 30 Mar. 1922 at Greensburg], and died on 11 Sept. 1911 at Greensburg, IN); George William Jr. (born 26 Apr. 1834, married Estabine Burgess [unrelated] in 1864 in Brown Co., IL, lived at Versailles, IN, and died 7 Aug. 1912); James Luther (born 15 Feb. 1836 at Shelbyville, IN, married Elizabeth Perry on 28 Aug. 1855, and died 4 Apr. 1865 in Scott Co.); Joseph M. (twin) (born 2 May 1838 in Scott Co., married Martha Perry, lived at Decatur, IN, and died 13 Feb. 1864); Horace G. (twin) (born 2 May 1838 in Scott Co., married his first cousin, Sarah Fields Burgess, on 25 Jan. 1866, and died 24 Sept. 1909 in Shelby Co., IN); Miranda Jane (born 22 Apr. 1840 in Scott Co., married Zephaniah Fields Jr. on 10 July 1860 [he was born 5 Feb. 1833, and died 12 Feb. 1923], and died 11 Mar. 1929, buried Sadieville Cemetery); John Thomas (twin) (born 23 Feb. 1842, married Julia Ann Rogers on 20 Feb. 1868 in Scott Co. [she died 18 Nov. 1868)], and secondly Susan Edith (Fitzgerald) Zeysing [she was born 8 Jan. 1837, and died 7 May 1920], and died on 11 May 1914, buried in the Bates-Parker Cemetery); Allen Genole (twin) (born 23 Feb. 1842, married Martha “Mattie” ___, and died 3 Nov. 1908 in Decatur Co., IN); Francis Marion (born 3 Feb. 1844, married Eliza Jane Patterson in Aug. 1872 [she was born 22 July 1849, and died 1 Oct. 1918], and secondly Emma Romans, and died 29 Nov. 1927, buried in the Bates Cemetery); Walter Scott Bates (born 18 Jan. 1846, died 25 Mar. 1848); Charles Augustus (born 12 Feb. 1850, married Sarah E. Zeysing on 1 Sept. 1875 in Scott Co. [she died 1902], and died 23 June 1930 at Greensburg, IN).
Mariah Bates is listed in the 1850 census for Scott Co., KY, and in 1860 living with Zephaniah Fields Jr. The Bateses farmed and owned a tavern near the Turkey Foot area of Scott Co. Mariah Bates died on 4 Apr. 1868 in Scott Co.; she and her husband are buried in the Old Elklick Cemetery.
5e. Joseph Fields. Born 5 Feb. 1809 in Scott Co., KY. Married Elizabeth Sharp in 1831 (she died six weeks later), and secondly Miranda Penn on 24 Dec. 1839 in Scott Co. (she was born 29 Apr. 1821, the daughter of Samuel Penn and Sally Griffith and died 27 Mar. 1857 in Scott Co.), and had children: Evaline P(enn?) (born Dec. 1840 in Scott Co., KY, married Sterling Paul “Jimmy” Smith on 13 Nov. 1868 in Scott Co., and died there on 18 July 1931); Sarah E. (I) (born 9 Apr. 1842 in Scott Co., and died there on 6 Jan. 1857); Nancy E. (I) “Nannie” (born May 1844 in Scott Co., KY, married Buford Hall on 23 Dec. 1868 in Scott Co., and died there on 30 May 1914); Penelope (III) “Neppie” (born 12 Mar. 1847 in Scott Co., married James Franklin Musselman on 6 Dec. 1870 in Scott Co., and died 23 Dec. 1923 at Woodstock, NY); Thomas Jefferson (I) (born 22 Mar. 1849 in Scott Co., married Joseph C. Pack about 1874, and died on 16 Feb. 1923 in Scott Co.); Elvessa B. (born 10 Jan. 1854 in Scott Co., and died there on 29 June 1856).
Joseph Fields Burgess was one of the wealthiest men of his time in Scott Co., KY, serving as Justice of the Peace there from 1840-51. His large mansion is considered to be the most splendid building of its type in northeastern Scott Co. His estate served as the basis for a popular novel, Weeds, by Edith Summers Kelley. He died there on 20 Jan. 1892, and is buried with his wife and family in a cemetery behind his old house.
5f. Margaret Ann (I). Born 28 May 1811 in Scott Co., KY. Married Jesse Dungan about 1830 (he was born in 1805, the son of Thomas Dungan, and died 12 Sept. 1838, being buried in the Beckett Cemetery), and had children: Sarah Ann (born 3 Aug. 1833, married Joshua Fields, and died 4 Mar. 1897); Marietta (born 22 July 1833, married her second cousin, George Washington Burgess [V], in 1850 in Harrison Co., KY, and died 2 Oct. 1920 in Carroll Co., MO); Nancy Elizabeth (born 1835); Maria(h) Frances(born 1837, married her cousin, William Faulconer [or Faulkner], son of Edmund Faulconer and Elizabeth Hedger, and grandson of Reuben Faulconer, on 18 May 1870); Leona F. (born 1839). After her husband’s death, Joseph Burgess provided for his sister’s family, acting as his nieces’ legal guardian until they came of age (he gave Marietta permission to marry in 1850). Listed with her father in the 1850 census, but moved to Harrison Co. in 1855, when Thomas Dungan’s estate was divided, her two older daughters deeding their interest in that estate to Margaret on 7 Mar. 1855 in Harrison Co. (Deed Book #25, p. 281). Listed in the 1860-80 censuses for Casons (6th) District, Harrison Co., KY, and in the tax records there as head of the family through 1881. She died on 20 Dec. 1881 in Harrison Co., KY, and is buried in the Beckett Cemetery.
5g. James Henry. Born 8 Jan. 1814 in Scott Co., KY; died there on 8 June 1826, and is buried in the Georgetown Cemetery.
5h. Edward (IX) (nmn). Born 1 July 1816 in Scott Co., KY. Married Mary Ann Adams on 3 Jan. 1836 (she was born 7 Nov. 1814, the daughter of Francis Adams and American Brennen or Branham, and died on 13 Dec. 1858), and secondly Sarah Elizabeth “Sallie” Davis on 21 Apr. 1861 in Scott Co. (she was born 19 July 1841, the daughter of Jonathan Davis and Frances Jane Laughlin, and died on 21 May 1919 in Scott Co.), and had children: James Greenberry (born 12 Oct. 1836 in Scott Co., married Mary Elizabeth Fields on 10 Aug. 1858 in Scott Co., and died on 22 Feb. 1863 at Chattanooga, TN, while serving in the Confederate Army); Naomi “Nannie” (born 5 July 1838 in Scott Co., married [Benjamin] Thomas Hinton on 18 Sept. 1860 in Scott Co., and died there on 5 May 1864); William Calvin (II) (born 12 Jan. 1840 in Scott Co., and died there on 10 May 1851); Remus Van Buren “Reem” (born 5 Dec. 1841 in Scott Co., and died there unmarried in 1901); Virginia (I) (born 18 Aug. 1843 in Scott Co., and died there on 29 Mar. 1851); Benjamin Kenn (born 29 Aug. 1846 in Scott Co., married his first cousin, Susan Ellen “Susellen” Drake, on 7 Feb. 1867 in Scott Co., and died there on 17 Mar. 1933); Joseph Edward (born 31 Aug. 1848 in Scott Co., and died there on 24 Aug. 1864); (Mary) Celestine “Tinie” (born 22 Dec. 1850 in Scott Co., married Edmond Caesar Muddiman on 28 Sept. 1874 in Scott Co., and died there on 20 Jan. 1886); John Cabell Breckinridge (born 11 Mar. 1852 in Scott Co., married Martha Susan Sharpe on 23 Dec. 1875 in Scott Co., and died there on 2 Nov. 1920); Solomon Washington “Sol” (born 14 Aug. 1855 in Scott Co., and died there on 19 Feb. 1898); Nancy Jane (II) “Nannie” (born 11 Feb. 1862 in Scott Co., married [John] Gano Shropshire on 15 Sept. 1885 in Scott Co., and died there on 12 Aug. 1920); Maria Antoinette (born 15 Oct. 1863 in Scott Co., and died there on 23 Aug. 1864); Lafayette Stipp (born 27 Nov. 1864 in Scott Co., married Sallie Pack about 1889, and died on 18 Nov. 1902 in Scott Co., being run over by an interurban train car); Lazarus Newton (born 30 Oct. 1867 in Scott Co., married Mary P. “Mollie” Johnson about 1889, and died on 31 May 1937 at Buffalo, Erie Co., NY); (Joseph) Lot (born 6 July 1871 in Scott Co., married Emma Lovena Boyers on 18 Nov. 1897 in Kenton Co., KY, and died on 14 Feb. 1925 in Harrison Co., KY); Hellena Ellen “Ella” (born 4 Jan. 1873 in Scott Co., married Keller Current Thomson on 7 Apr. 1903 in Scott Co., and died on 15 Sept. 1962 in Harrison Co., KY); Sarah Edward “Sallie” (born 3 May 1876 [or 1875] in Scott Co., and died there on 24 May 1924); Cassius Caesar (born 25 Sept. 1878 in Scott Co., married Amelia Annie Hudgens on 22 Jan. 1906 in Fayette Co., KY, and died 15 Oct. 1958 at Huntingburg, Dubois Co., IN).
Edward Burgess Jr. is listed in the 1840-80 censuses for Scott Co., KY, farming large tracts of land in the Turkeyfoot District. He died there on 28 Aug. 1898, and is buried with his wives and many of their children in the Georgetown Cemetery, Georgetown, KY.
5i. Greenberry Fields. Born 6 July 1819 in Scott Co., KY. Married Elizabeth Wycoff on 18 Oct. 1814 in Scott Co. (she was born 18 May 1818 in KY, and died on 16 Apr. 1853 in Shelby Co., IN), and secondly (Arthusa) Frances Wright on 17 Feb. 1855 in Shelby Co., IN (she was born 27 Jan. 1830 in KY, and died 15 Aug. 1871 in Shelby Co.), and thirdly Margaret A. Jacobs on 29 Apr. 1873 (she was born 8 June 1855 in Scott Co., KY, and died 1938 in Shelby Co.), and had children: Burlington Benjamin (born 3 Oct. 1842 in Scott Co., and died while serving in the Union Army on 24 Sept. 1862 at Helena, AR); Susan D. (born 8 July 1844 in Scott Co., and died before 1850); (William) Calvin (III) (born 8 Mar. 1846 in Scott Co., and died 24 Nov. 1862 in Shelby Co., IN); Sarah Fields “Sallie” (born Nov. [or May] 1847 in Shelby Co., IN, married her first cousin, Horace G. Bates, on 25 Jan. 1866 in Shelby Co., and died there about 1927); Mary Miranda (born 7 Apr. 1849 in Shelby Co., and died there in 1853); Margaret E. “Maggie” (born 9 Nov. 1850 in Shelby Co., married Alfred F. Thompson on 26 Sept. 1889 in Shelby Co., and died there in 1927); Joseph Greenberry (born 27 Mar 1853 in Shelby Co., and died later the same year); John Clement (born 1 Mar. 1856 in Shelby Co., married Martha ___, and secondly Mayme Frances Hinshaw on 4 May 1915 in Shelby Co., and died in 1917 at Juneau, Alaska, or in Arizona); James Edward (I) (born 14 Nov. 1857 in Shelby Co., married Alice M. Brown on 13 Nov. 1882 in Shelby Co., and died there on 18 Apr. 1929); Nancy G. “Nannie” (born 26 Aug. 1859 in Shelby Co., married John H. Fagel on 7 Nov. 1888 in Shelby Co., and died there on 6 Aug. 1951); Noah T. (born and died 1861 in Shelby Co.); Belle (born 5 Aug. 1864 in Shelby Co., married Rev. Columbus Taylor Roberts on 8 Feb. 1888 in Shelby Co., and died on 2 Oct. 1892 at La Junta, CO); Mary Etta (born about 1866 in Shelby Co., married David A. John(s) on 7 Aug. 1889 in Shelby Co., and was living in 1909); (Florence) Helena “Lena” (born Mar. 1877 in Shelby Co., married William R. Midkiff on 5 Dec. 1894 in Shelby Co., and died in 1959); William Clement (born 15 Sept. 1878 in Shelby Co., and died there on 27 Dec. 1923); Roy Otto (born 18 Nov. 1880 in Shelby Co., married Nora Ethel Hatfield on 9 Apr. 1900 in Shelby Co., and died there on 7 July 1934); (Grace) Leona (born Nov. 1882 in Shelby Co., married Albert Byron Brown on 7 Aug. 1901 in Shelby Co., and died there in 1918); Francis Nathaniel “Frankie” (born 25 Feb. 1884 in Shelby Co., and died there on 2 May 1884).
Greenberry Fields Burgess moved from Scott Co. to Addison Township, Shelby Co., IN, in 1847. His biography appeared in Atlas of Shelby Co., Indiana (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1880, p. 48), and also in Chadwick’s History of Shelby County, Indiana, by Edward H. Chadwick (Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Co., 1909, p. 676-678). He died there on 2 Apr. 1915, being buried with his wives and family in the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery.
5j. Marietta “Martha.” Born 20 July 1824 in Scott Co., KY. Married as his second wife Thomas Creath White on 29 Apr. 1845 in Scott Co. (he was born 1817, son of Daniel W. White and Alice Threlkeld, and died 20 Jan. 1892; by his first wife he had children: James K. [born 1836, died childless]), and had children: Mary Thomas (born 1846, living with her parents in 1880); Llewellyn Williams (born 1848, married Margaret Mae “Maggie” Bane on 29 Mar. 1873 [she was born 25 Jan. 1856 in VA, and died 15 June 1914], and died on 17 Dec. 1921, being buried with his parents); Daniel Edward (born 24 July 1850, married Angeline “Anna” Barnhill on 22 Dec. 1877, and died childless in Scott Co. on 9 Dec. 1917, being buried in the Vance Cemetery); Joseph Calvin (born 1853 or 1855, married Carrie Sherritt Moreland, and died on 4 Apr. 1926, being buried in the White Family Cemetery); Agatha Bathsheba “Gatha” (born 20 Apr. 1858, married John S. Lay on 14 Sept. 1889, and secondly Calvin Parker, and died childless on 12 Mar. 1942, being buried in the White Family Cemetery); Nancy Maria “Nannie” (born 11 Feb. 1866, and died unmarried on 17 Mar. 1889, buried White Family Cemetery); Lula Green (born 16 July 1869, and died 8 Jan. 1879, buried White Family Cemetery).
The Whites are listed in the 1850-80 censuses for Scott Co., KY. Martha White died in 1890, and is buried in the White Family Cemetery.
The Biography of William Edward Bates
“William Edward Bates of Georgetown, Judge of the Scott County Court, son of George W. and Maria (Burgess) Bates, was born in Scott County, Kentucky, August 8, 1830. George W. Bates (father) was a native of Massachusetts, who came to Kentucky in 1826, locating in Scott County. In 1834 he removed to Indiana, and after spending two years in that state, he returned to his former home in Scott County, where he continued to reside until his death in 1886 [sic]. He was a fuller by trade, but after coming to Kentucky he devoted his attention to farming. He was a major of militia under the command of General John T. Pratt. He was a highly respected citizen and a worthy and upright member of the Christian Church....
“Maria Burgess Bates (mother) was born in Scott County, and was a resident of her native county until her death, April 8, 1888 [sic]. She was a most excellent woman whose chief characteristic was her devotion to her religion and to the Christian Church of which she was a member. Edward Burgess (grandfather) was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, in 1783 [sic], and was one of the first settlers of Scott County, where he was a farmer, and died in 1857. The Burgess family was descended from the Huguenots, who were driven out of France by Louis XIV in 1685, many of whom settled in Virginia and the Carolinas, and their descendants are everywhere highly honored and respected; being enterprising and intelligent, they are found in legitimate business pursuits and in the professions in almost every community. The ministers especially who belong to this sturdy race have wide influence in the South and West.
“William Edward Bates lived on his father’s farm until he was twenty-four years of age. He was educated in the common schools of his day, and by close application he became well advanced in many of the English branches. He was married in 1860 to Annie E. Reed, daughter of James Reed of Scott County, after which event he returned to the farm, where he remained until 1890, during a part of which time—about nine years—he served as justice of the peace. In 1890 he was elected judge of the Scott County Court, and in 1894 was re-elected to that office, in both of which elections he was the candidate of the Democratic Party.... Judge Bates is the eldest of twelve children—eleven sons and one daughter—of George W. Bates, eight are now living. During the Civil strife the family was divided; two of the sons were in the Federal and two in the Confederate army, and latter two serving under General John Morgan. Two other brothers served for a short time only, one on each side of the conflict.”
Greenberry F. Burgess, Addison Township (1880)
“This old and respected farmer was born in Scott Co., Ky., July 6, 1819, and is the son of Edward and Sarah Burgess, nee Fields—he a native of Virginia and she of Maryland, who settled in Kentucky when children. There they grew to maturity, and Feb. 6, 1800 became man and wife, and spent the balance of their days in that State. Greenberry F. was the ninth in the family composed of Nancy, William C., Bathsheba, Maria, Joseph, Margaret A., James H., Edward, Greenberry F., and Marietta. His youth was passed in his native county, and in 1847 he moved to Shelby Co., Ind., settling in Addison Township. He was married in Scott Co., Ky., Oct. 16, 1841, to Elizabeth Wikoff, who was born in Kentucky May 18, 1818. She was the daughter of Nicholas and Susan Wikoff, natives of that State; they had the following children—Burlington B., who died in the Army Sept. 24, 1862; Susan D., deceased; William C., deceased; Sarah F.; Mary M., deceased; Maggie E.; and Joseph G., deceased. Mrs. Burgess was a member of the Christian Church, and died April 16, 1853. He was again married Feb. 17, 1855, to Arthusa F. Wright, daughter of William and Sarah Wright, natives of Kentucky, where she was born Jan. 27, 1830. The following children are the fruits of this union: John C., James E., Nannie G., Noah T., Belle, Mary E., and one died infancy. This wife was also a member of the Disciples Church, and died Aug. 15, 1871. He was married a third time, April 29, 1873, to Margaret A. Jacobs, daughter of Nathaniel and Margaret Jacobs—he a native of Virginia, and she of Kentucky, who settled in this county in 1857, where Mrs. Jacobs is still living, her husband having died May 2, 1879. Mrs. Burgess was born in Scott Co., Ky., June 8, 1855, and has two children—Florence Helena and William Clement Burgess. Mrs. Burgess is an industrious, economical wife, and a faithful member of the Catholic Church. Mr. Burgess has always been a hardworking man, and it was by determined industry and frugal habits that he has been able to own today 256 acres of land. Politically, he has always been an unflinching Democrat. He is upright and honest in every transaction, and is truly one of “Old Shelby’s” self-made men. A view of his home will be found in this book, denoting that he is considered one of the representative farmers of Addison Township.”
Greenbury Fields Burgess (1909)
“A worthy scion of a fine old pioneer family, and he himself a popular and venerable early settler who merits the praise due all hardy and honest men of this type, is Greenbury [sic] Fields Burgess of Addison township, Shelby County, Indiana, who was born in Scott County, Kentucky, July 6, 1819, the son of Edward Burgess, a native of Virginia, who married Sarah Fields on Feb. 6, 1800, a native of Maryland. After spending their long and useful lives on a farm, which they developed from the primeval forest, they both died in Scott County, Kentucky. Ten children were born to them, named as follows: Nancy, William C., Bathsheba, Joseph, Maria, Margaret, Edward, James Henry, Greenbury F., and Marietta.
“Greenbury F. Burgess received only a limited education in the old-time log school-houses. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age. In 1847 he came to Indiana, and began life for himself amid new conditions, locating in Addison township, Shelby County, where he secured land, which he at once began to clear and develop into a farm, erecting rude buildings, which, as he prospered by dint of hard toil and good management, gave way in time to more substantial buildings. He finally became the owner of two hundred and fourteen acres of valuable land. He cleared about one hundred acres of this himself. He has always been a very robust, rugged, and hard-working man, consequently he has succeeded. He has always carried on general farming in a manner that not only insured a good living from year to year, but enabled him to lay by quite a competency. He has devoted considerable attention to the raising of grain and various kinds of live stock. His farm is highly improved, and he has a good dwelling and substantial out-buildings, and an excellent orchard and garden.
“Mr. Burgess has been three times married, first on October 16, 1841, to Elizabeth Wikoff, of Kentucky, who was born May 18, 1818. She died April 16, 1853, and he married a second time on February 17, 1855, his second wife being Arthusa F. Wright, born January 27, 1830; she died August 15, 1871, and Mr. Burgess’ third marriage was solemnized on April 29, 1873, to Margaret A. Jacobs, of Scott County, Kentucky, a daughter of Nathaniel and Margaret (Sharp) Jacobs, the former a native of Virginia, and the latter of Scott County, Kentucky. They came to Shelby County, Indiana, in 1851, and secured land in Liberty Township. Mr. Sharp [sic], who devoted his life to farming, died May 2, 1879, and his wife passed away October 22, 1894. They were the parents of thirteen children, namely: Malissa, Harvey, Maranda, Amanda, Mary, Susan, William, George W. and Thomas J. (twins); Narcissus; Margaret, wife of the subject of this review; Amanda [sic]; and Serelda.
“Greenbury F. Burgess’ children by his first wife were: Burlington B., deceased; Susan D., deceased; William C., deceased; Sarah F.; Mary M., deceased; Maggie E.; Joseph G., deceased. The subject’s children by his second wife were six, as follows: John C., James E., Nannie G., Noah T. Belle, Mary E., and an infant. The children by Mr. Burgess’ third wife are: Florence Helena, wife of William Midkiff, of Liberty Township, Shelby County; William Clement, a farmer on the old home place; Roy Otto, a farmer in Addison Township, who married Nora Hatfield, on April 9, 1901, and they have two children, LaRue and Gladys; Leona G., married Albert Brown, of Fort Benjamin Harrison, and to them three children have been born, namely: Burgess B., Ruth, and Margaret Helena; the fifth child of the subject and his third wife was Francis Nathaniel, who died May 2, 1884.
“Mr. Burgess has always been a Democrat. He is a member of the Baptist Church. He is truly self-made man, and has won the respect of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in Shelby County. While feeble at the age of ninety years, owing to rheumatism, his health is otherwise unimpaired. His eyesight is particularly good, as he is enabled to read magazines and the finest print of the daily newspapers without glasses. It is a source of pleasure and satisfaction to him, and he devotes most of his time to reading.”